Macroeconomics and crypto market trends

Inflation data release boosts market optimism

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on December 12 for November showed a year-on-year increase of 2.7%, slightly higher than October's 2.6%, in line with market expectations. On a month-on-month basis, CPI rose by 0.3%, the largest increase since April this year. The core CPI remained at 3.3% year-on-year, also increasing by 0.3% month-on-month.

This data reinforces the market's expectations that the Federal Reserve may cut interest rates at next week's meeting, with the probability of a rate cut exceeding 96%. Analysts believe that although inflationary pressures have eased, economic growth remains robust, which makes policymakers more inclined to adopt measures to stimulate economic growth.

Affected by this news, major U.S. stock indices generally rose. As of Wednesday's close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell slightly by 0.2%, the S&P 500 rose by 0.8%, and the Nasdaq surged by 1.77%, breaking the 20,000-point barrier for the first time. Tech stocks performed particularly well, with Tesla's stock price rising nearly 6%, and tech giants like Google, Meta, and Amazon also reaching new highs. Stocks related to the crypto market also performed strongly.

Crypto market rebounds Bitcoin returns to $100,000

After the release of CPI data, the crypto market as a whole rebounded. Bitcoin rose by 4.5%, breaking through $100,000 again, while Ethereum's price also surpassed $3,800. Altcoins generally rebounded, recovering to the levels prior to the previous day's decline. Data shows that the net inflow into U.S. Bitcoin spot ETFs reached $223 million on the same day, with over 970 million USDT flowing into centralized exchanges from Tether within 24 hours. The market trading was active, and bullish sentiment was strong.

In popular sectors, meme coins such as Dogecoin ( DOGE ), Shiba Inu ( SHIB ), WIF, BONK, and FLOKI have all risen by more than double digits. In addition, AI concept tokens like NEAR, ICP, and Render have also achieved an increase of over 10%, demonstrating the market's continued interest in emerging fields.

Regulatory Trends and Scientific Innovation

Former Republican CFTC Commissioner Brian Quintenz has become a leading candidate to head the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which could signal a significant shift in future encryption regulatory policies. Quintenz currently oversees policy affairs in the digital asset division at venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz.

In the field of scientific research, the decentralized science project ResearchHub has attracted widespread attention. The platform incentivizes academic peer review through its native token RSC, with each paper review earning approximately $150 worth of tokens. Some researchers have indicated that the income obtained through this method has surpassed the salaries of traditional academic institutions. This innovative model not only provides researchers with new economic opportunities but also promotes fairness and efficiency in academic review.

The Rise of DeSci Again

Decentralized Science ( DeSci ) has recently become a hot topic in the encryption industry. Google Trends data shows that this keyword reached its highest search popularity in five years at the end of November. DeSci is actively addressing fundamental challenges faced by traditional science, such as funding shortages, data sharing, and collaboration. Its applications have expanded to specific areas such as advancing research, reducing the cost of genetic testing, and treating hair loss.

Despite the brief retreat of enthusiasm in the DeSci field, it has once again attracted attention with the recent report by Nature on ResearchHub. Currently, according to data statistics, the total market capitalization of leading DeSci tokens has surpassed $1.2 billion, highlighting the enormous development potential and market recognition of this field.

Hot Project Focus

Rig: A New Framework for Building LLM-Driven Applications

Rig is a Rust library currently under development, aimed at building scalable, modular, and ergonomic LLM-driven applications. The project was founded by @Playgrounds0x, and its token $arc has garnered attention in the crypto market.

Rig is built on Rust, natively supports the Solana ecosystem, and boasts excellent speed, scalability, and security. The project roadmap includes:

1. Multi-Agent System
2. Specific platform agents ( such as Discord, Telegram, Notion, Slack, etc. )
3. Agents with on-chain operation capabilities
4. Proxy for reading on-chain data
5. Integrate with other agents ( such as DePIN ) network
6. Educational content to help developers better understand the platform.

The development of this project may open up new directions for the integration of AI and blockchain technology, which is worth ongoing attention.